Pop Goes My Heart
January 27, 2008, 11:39 am
Posted by Cathleen Kaveny
How best to encapsulate the difference between early baby boomers and late boomers/Gen X? Well, in their formative years, the early boomers had Hendrix, Dylan, and Joplin. The late boomers/Gen Xers, and early Ys had music, well, like this:
(This is actually a spoof, from Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore’s movie, Music and Lyrics.
Since I can hardly hear the music, I must concentrate on their looks, and methinks that the GenXers are elegant while the Boomers were scruffy. (Does Elvis count as a Boomer? Sui generis?) I wonder what their looks tell us about GenXers characters, if anything.
You are too kind, Ann, too kind. I didn’t know that kind of hair could be elegant.
I believe there was a major breakthrough in hair extension technology in about 1984.
Sadly, by then Burt Bacharach’s top-40 years had largely passed. His iconic protest single One Less Bell to Answer had been recorded 3 times in the years 1967-71, hitting #2 on the charts in the 5th Dimension recording. Enjoy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bytx_KAwMr0
I was thinking of the GenXers’ general look, which to me is understated, and I’d say their hair relative to the Boomers’ is extremely orderly, they guys’, anyway.
Yes, Kathy, Bacharach didn’t seem to belong to that period at all, though I’ve never really understood what “rock” is, so I’m never sure who is a rock musician. All rock has in common as far as I can hear is a loud monotonous beat. Sort of boogie-woogie for the deaf.
Bands didn’t get scruffy until around 1986. Look at most any pop band between 1983 and 1985 and you’ll see almost all of them clean-shaven with well-gelled hair. Perhaps the guys all decided at Live Aid to make an appearance adjustment or two.
Hey, I need to get back up to DC and stop by Commander Salamander (Is it still open?). Back when I was in high school, my classmates and I would have considered a stop there much more worthwhile than going to the Capitol.
I like the keyboard player with the ruffled shirt because he shows that Mike Myers based the Austin Powers look a bit on Paul Young.
I guess we differ about what is scruffy. I’d call Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and Jerry Lee Lewis scruffy.
Speaking of scruffy, this is an awesome (totally awesome) album: Springsteen sings Seeger.
http://www.amazon.com/We-Shall-Overcome-Seeger-Sessions/dp/B000EU1PNC/ref=tag_stp_st_edpp_url
Cathy, I’m sorry to keep commenting about this album, but it’s so fun.
Unfortunately, Amazon doesn’t preview my favorite song, Oh Mary Don’t You Weep, in which Springsteen takes major musical and lyrical liberties but still of course rocks the house. “Moses stood on the Red Sea shore, smote the water with a two by four. Pharoah’s army got drownded, oh Mary don’t you weep.”
They played the song on Good morning america but this version is better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16kMeKk0oW4&feature=related
By contrast, the musically stunning–phenomenal–a capella group that launched a thousand boy bands who had no similar musicianship. If you watch all the way to the end, they move together through 4 key changes in perfect harmony.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_7yBFovdtE
Springsteen’s version might give the mistaken impression that the Mary in the song is from John 20:13-14, but Take Six’s more traditional version, which includes the line “Martha, don’t you moan,” indicates that the reference is to John 11.
Ann: In regard to “scruffy”, I mean in particular that Bruce’s early _Born in the USA_ promo work he appeared much more clean-shaven than he did before or after that point.